April 2013 Newsletter

Dear Member

A very belated new year, I do hope lambing has gone well for you all and that any effects of the awful Schmallenberg have been minimal. The weather is beginning to warm up and FINALLY the grass is beginning to grow. The weather has impacted on us all this year, so please read this newsletter as it has affected a couple of events. The flock visit to Maggie Wilson, Pessall Flock has been cancelled due to the effect of recent adverse weather.

There have been a few changes within the society since the AGM, in particular the change in treasurer. We would like to thank Lynwen Jenkins for her help during her time as treasurer and welcome Marie Annette Williams who has stepped into the position. Please ensure all payments and related enquiries are sent to Marie Annette with immediate effect. Also Sylvia Henson (Brithdir 315) has replaced Arfon Williams as area representative.

Condolences to the family of Mr Ian Henchcliffe, Nethertown Flock (269) following their bereavement. Mr Henchcliffe was a very kind man who always had lovely things to say to me about the society and breed.

Thank-you for everyone’s patience in waiting for the flock book, which is enclosed with this newsletter as it is a little later than planned. Very few people have contacted me; therefore I assume you all have been simply awaiting it eagerly.

Now that the flock book is complete, I will be going back through the forms and collating the lists for minutes etc, so everyone who has requested these will receive them shortly. We are hoping that all this data will soon be able to be updated in one central location and it will eliminate all this double and triple entry – SO WATCH THIS SPACE.

Once again, should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you to everyone who entered our photographic competition. As a result each year we are strengthening our bank of photos for the breed.

Congratulations to Alison Ayling of the Clover Flock for the winning photo of the Nell Flock funnelling down the hillside.

FLOCK COMPETITION 2013

The flock competition has always been popular with a core of members and the process and the future of the competition was discussed at a recent meeting. It was apparent that there is still keen interest for the competition to continue and for more members to enter. Adjustments may well be made to encourage this.The flock competition offers members the chance to have a society judge assess their flock. This is a stand-alone process and for new members it can be a priceless opportunity to pick the brains of members that have experience in the society and in the judging of Llanwenogs. The judge is different each year, so again differing opinions and preferences can also be gleaned.

The Working committee would love to encourage new and old members to enter the competition and help us demonstrate the versatility & quality of the breed.

REMINDER FOR ORDERING TAGS FOR RAM & EWE LAMBS 2013.

Year letter for 2013 crop of lambs will be T.It would also be of great help if your LLANWENOG SHEEP SOCIETY FLOCK NUMBER could be included on the tags as well as your UK flock number e.g. UK123456 666 T012.

STOCK FOR SALE

Members can place an advert on the Society’s website advertising their flock and stock for sale at any time of the year.

The cost of this will be as follows :-£20-00 per year to advertise flocks. £5-00 to advertise stock for sale up to 3 months.

IMPORTANT SOCIETY STOCK REGISTRATION UPDATE

1. Please remember that Ram Lambs from this year can only be registered if from a registered ewe.

2. Please remember that this year is the last year you can register an S ewe yearling to ensure that any Ram born from it is eligible for registration.

3. The society can only accept Ewes for registration as either lambs or yearlings. Costs of registering are £1 per lamb and £2 per yearling.

4. Please also remember that any Ram needs to be registered with the society to enable any progeny to be valid in terms of a registered flock. Please can all members be aware of this when buying and selling Rams. Especially with new or potential members, it reflects badly on the society if buyers are not made aware of the fact that should they wish to run a pure bred registered flock they need to use a Registered Ram from a registered flock.

MORE NEWS:

As President Mrs Margaret Brain would like to introduce a points system award.

The award will be presented to the flock that receives the most accumulated points across competitions where the breed competes against other breeds i.e. Other Native Breed Classes and general mixed classes. More information will follow – but this gives to the opportunity to plan your shows for the 2013 season. Good Luck.

Merchandise

A range of clothing e.g. sweat shirts has been be started which will show the new logo. Keep any eye out for information on the website but in the meantime should you have any requirements or costings please contact. Mrs Molly Watts, Moithan Fields, Martletwy, Narberth, Pembs, SA67 8BA or e-mail -moithan_fields@btinernet.com

Rosettes

Society rosettes will in future feature our new logo. This will happen progressively as our old stock of rosettes runs out.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES

Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May 2013 – The Royal Welsh Smallholder & Garden Festival Weekend at the RWAS Showground, Builth Wells. For further details contact The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society on 01982 554403.

Tuesday 21st May 2013- NSA Welsh Sheep

1st June 2013 - Lambing Competition cut off date. Please send any entries to the Secretary by the end of June 2013.

Sunday 16th June 2013 - The Three Counties Countryside Show, The Showground Malvern. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust will hold Llanwenog classes at the Show. For further details and schedules contact the Three Counties Agricultural Society on 01684 584900.

1st - 7th July 2013 – Ram Registrations. If you want to sell Rams at the official Show & Sale the relevant forms and payment must be received within these deadlines.

13TH July 2013. Support Group AGM and Summer Flock Visit.Mrs Coe, Glebe Major Flock 246 has kindly agreed to host the event at Ashorne, Warwickshire. CV35 9AE. Everyone is welcome to attend the event from the whole society. For the purposes of catering etc please contact Alison Ayling of the Support Group should you wish to attend (Clover Flock-423).

Monday 22nd - Thursday 25th July 2013 - Royal Welsh Show at Builth Wells. For Schedules contact The Show Office on 01982 554403. Please note, this year the Working Committee has decided not to host a social event on the Monday evening of the show.

Please also note the Llanwenog Classes are being held on the Tuesday of the Royal Welsh week, rather than the traditional Monday with judging starting at 9a.m.

Saturday 9th November 2013. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND DINNER. This year the committee have decided that the AGM will be held at the Grannell Hotel in Llanwnnen. Please note this is different from the date shown in the society calendar. Arrangements are being made for a flock visit during the day.

PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 2013

This year we had another great selection of photos for the calendar, which once again sold out with the diversity of pictures providing a stunning product.This year we are keen to continue this and will use the same categories as last year. Each category winner will go forward to be judged for the ‘Llanwenog Photograph of the Year 2013’.

The categories are:

LLANWENOGS THROUGH THE SEASONS: Llanwenog sheep in all weathers.

FLOCKS IN THE FIELD: Capture the very essence of the ‘Flock’

TUPPING TIME: Catching the mood and atmosphere of these Autumn months.

LAMBING TIME: Demonstrating the fun and life of Spring and new-born lambs

SHOW TIME LLANWENOG: Primed and ready for show Llanwenogs.

Photographs can only be accepted by jpg, gif or bmp (a resolution of 300ppi gives optimum reproduction). Also please try and use landscape mode as this provides a better image when used on the calendar.Please clearly mark the category entered and please give details of the sheep and the owners flock. In entering, the photographer gives permission for the Society to use the photograph for Society publicity, calendar and web site. This we hope will provide publicity for your flock and refresh and increase the range of photographs to publicise the breed.ENTRIES CLOSE ON 6th SEPTEMBER 2013

AND FINALLY A PLEA FOR HELP!

The success of a society like ours inevitably depends on the voluntary help of a wide range of people which has been forthcoming over a long number of years. However more recently it has become apparent that in certain areas e.g shows & events at which the show stand is present the work required is falling on the same people time & time again. Attending events with the show stand & sheep for it is a vital part of the promotion of our breed & this year amongst others the society will be attending the Smallholders Event, Welsh Sheep & the Royal Welsh Show. It would be very helpful if any member who can offer any help with these events e.g. being present on the show stand for 2 or 3 hours would contact the secretary or Chairman. It is worth noting that our attendance at the events mentioned is being financed by the Cynnal y Cardi scheme & the input of members contributes to the input of the Society required by the scheme.In a similar vein our website is being upgraded, again with the financial support of the Cynnal y Cardi scheme.This requires that the website is bilingual (something that has also been requested by a number of our members) & again it would be very helpful if any member who can help with translation of pages, forms etc. into Welsh (or knows of anyone else who can help) please contact the Secretary or Chairman.